Microsoft has released some of the source code for the software it uses to collect details of people's Wi-Fi hotspots, so that it can be examined for privacy implications.

In a blog post last Friday, Reid Kuhn, partner group program manager for the Windows Phone engineering team, said the publication of the code should demonstrate Microsoft's commitment to privacy and ensuring the protection of people's information.

The code released by Microsoft is part of that used in an activity it dubs "managed driving", whereby Microsoft uses cars to collect cell tower, Wi-Fi and GPS data. The idea behind the mapping is to be able to provide faster and better-targeted location-based services to Windows Phone users.

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